Giggs needs to be playing on his natural left winger role, it is clear now he struggles to play in the central midfield especially against physically stronger opponents. I know Fergie doenst like playing Giggs on the left side anymore cause hes 39 and running up and down the flanks at that age he could easily pull a hamstring or something else which at this stage in his career could be the end. Just use him as a impact sub from now on, rather see him come off the bench and inspire the youngsters.

Most worrisome aspect of that game (like most of the season so far) was the utter failure of the midfield to control the game. Powell did fairly well when he was on, but Giggs, Scholes and Cleverley weren't great at all. Also another game where Chica fails to prove himself as a starter. Was hoping for more. Not a big deal though.

I honestly would rather have Powell in at this point. Give me a three man midfield with Fletcher, Powell and Carrick. I just don't want to see Scholes or Giggs anywhere unless it's the second half and we're comfortable.

I don't agree. We were fairly deep anyway, and the DM wouldnt have been that deep at that point. If anything he would have been in line with Scholes as Scholes was deep. A DM doesnt literally spend a whole game standing behind the CMs no matter how deep they are.

No the cdm does not do that. Point is we have been getting our ass handed to us countless of times by top teams since Hargo started spending his days in the hospital, and Fletcher lost form. Whenever a good team with a strong midfield plays us, we struggle so bad defensively. ESPECIALLY since Vidic got injured.

In this situation, of course a Dm couldve done something to stop the goal. I am not saying the ball loss and tackle wasnt stupid, but the need for some power in midfield is pretty obvious in my opinion.

I thought Welbeck was very good at times, then went a bit missing at times. It is promising though. Jones needs more game time so his precision gets better again. He mostly makes the correct plays, but sloppy passing has been the one and only drawback for him this half. His crossing was amazing, and the will to go forward had me standing up in my couch.

Really? I'd say that Welbeck has been getting involved pretty thoroughly in the first half. He was making runs, tackles, passes, and headers consistently and almost scored.

As for Jones, I was really surprised with his quickness on the wing. That willingness to get forward was exciting, and defending wasn't costly. Pretty good half overall though. Just need to get a goal.

I'm sorry giggsy, but I think it's time for you to hang up the boots. He just looks mistake prone and off the pace.
edit: Love Giggs just as much as any United fan, but I can't stand seeing him play poorly every game at CM.

Same. I really like him particularly as a central defender. Before Evans upped his game this year (even though I'm still not convinced), I was hoping for a long-term Jones/Smalling partnership with the same type of dynamic Vidic/Rio had. A bruiser with a more refined player.

Oh, I am super convinced when it comes to Evans. I do think Jones and Smalling have better "potential", but no doubt Evans has grown a lot. He's what? 23? Must have played atleast 100 games for us by now. Impressive as hell. I like Jones at CB the best too. I would love our defense to look like Rafael-Jones-Smalling-New LB/Fabio/Buttner, with Evans rotating with Jones/Smalling in the future.

Nope, from Champion's league goes by head-to-head record. From BBC's site...

WHY ARE CHELSEA GOING OUT?
So why exactly are Chelsea going out? It all goes down to their head-to-head record with Shakhtar Donetsk. Both teams have 10 points, but the side from Ukraine will go through because they scored more goals at Chelsea than the London club managed in the reverse fixture. (This comes on the list of qualification criteria after goal difference and goals scored between the two teams - both of which were the same).

If you are interested, that is Champions League rule 7.06, sub-section d).

It's really odd that the two oldest members of the squad stay fit while the younger ones don't. But it is extremely worrying. If it was just Cleverson getting long-term injuries I wouldn't worry too much, but when you have as many players as United have getting injured for the long term, I really think there are inherent problems with the club.

I disregarded Owen Hargreave's comments about the club's medical treatments when he made them, but the more time that goes by, the more paranoid I get that he might have been right.

He does seem to have been injury prone up to now, same as Ando. All the more pressing that United get solid midfielders. The defence situation honestly doesn't even worry me quite as much, I think that if we settle on a backline and keeper, that the defense will improve. The midfield is the most concerning for me, especially considering age + injury proneness. Every midfield player is either one or the other.